Books
Articles, Book Chapters, & Encyclopedia Articles
Shorter Pieces - Refereed Encyclopedia Entries & Book Reviews
Keynote Addresses
Conference Papers
- Young Adult Novelists, Second Series. Editor. Dictionary of Literary Biography, Vol. 391. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 2023.
- Young Adult Novelists, First Series. Editor. Dictionary of Literary Biography, Vol. 389. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 2022.
- Discworld and the Disciplines: Critical Approaches to the Terry Pratchett Works. Ed. Anne Hiebert Alton and William C. Spruiell. North Carolina: McFarland, 2014.
- Peter Pan [by J.M. Barrie]. A scholarly edition. Peterborough, Ontario: Broadview Press, 2011.
- Arousing Delight: Arthur Rackham, Artist and Illustrator. Mt. Pleasant, MI: Central Michigan University, 2006.
- Little Women [by Louisa May Alcott]. A scholarly edition. Peterborough, Ontario: Broadview Press, 2001.
Articles, Book Chapters, & Encyclopedia Articles
- “Sarah Dessen (1970 –)”. Young Adult Novelists, Second Series. Dictionary of Literary Biography, Vol. 391. Farmington Hill, MI: Gale, 2023. 79-87.
- “Diane Duane (1952 – ).” Young Adult Novelists, First Series. Dictionary of Literary Biography, Vol. 389. Farmington Hill, MI: Gale, 2022. 69-80.
- “Terry Pratchett (1948–2015).” Co-authored with William C. Spruiell. Young Adult Novelists, First Series. Dictionary of Literary Biography, Vol. 389. Farmington Hill, MI: Gale, 2022. 213-35.
- “Coloring in Octarine: Visual Semiotics and Discworld.” Discworld and the Disciplines: Critical Approaches to the Terry Pratchett Works. Ed. Anne Hiebert Alton and William C. Spruiell. North Carolina: McFarland, 2014. 26-80.
- "Monsters in Harry Potter." An Encyclopedia of Literary and Cinematic Monsters. Surry: Ashgate Pres, 2013. 210-17.
- “Educating the Next Generation.” 7500 word essay, published on-line by the Clarke Historical Library, for the Clarke Library’s 2010-2011 Children’s Literature exhibit. Clarke Library Home
- “Playing the Genre Game: Generic Fusions of the Harry Potter series.” Critical Perspectives on Harry Potter. Ed. Elizabeth E. Heilman. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge, 2008. 199-223.
- “Helen Lyndon Goff (1899-1996) [P. L. Travers].” Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004.
- “Generic Fusion and the Mosaic of Harry Potter.” Harry Potter’s World: Multidisciplinary Critical Perspectives. Ed. Elizabeth Heilman. New York: Routledge, 2003. 141-62.
- “The Hockey Sweater: A Canadian Cross-Cultural Icon.” Papers: Explorations into Children’s Literature 12:2 (August 2002): 5-13.
- “‘Bring the child in you out to play!’: Canadian Children’s Culture and the 1997 Calgary International Children’s Festival.” Canadian Children's Literature 90 (1998): 17-27.
- “Changing the World: A Profile of Writer JoAnne James.” Canadian Children's Literature 85 (1997): 31-40.
- “Books in the Novels of Charlotte Brontë.” Brontë Society Transactions 21:7 (1996): 265-74.
- “Education in Victorian Fact and Fiction: Kay-Shuttleworth and Dickens's Hard Times.” Dickens Quarterly 9:2 (1992): 67-80.
Shorter Pieces - Refereed Encyclopedia Entries & Book Reviews
- “George MacDonald’s Phantastes.” Book Review of annotated edition of Phantastes edited by John Pennington and Roderick McGillis. North Wind: A Journal of the George MacDonald Society (2018). Forthcoming.
- “Jonathan Swift. Monsters in Gulliver’s Travels.” An Encyclopedia of Literary and Cinematic Monsters. Surrey: Ashgate Press, 2013. 523-26.
- “Jabberwock.” An Encyclopedia of Literary and Cinematic Monsters. Surrey: Ashgate Press, 2013. 348-49.
- “Diane Duane.” Encyclopedia entry. The Cambridge Guide to Children’s Books in English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001. 424.
- “Scott Corbett.” Oxford Encyclopedia of Children’s Literature. Ed. Jack Zipes. Oxford: Oxford U.P., 2006. 1: 347.
- “Sheila Greenwald.” Oxford Encyclopedia of Children’s Literature. Ed. Jack Zipes. Oxford: Oxford U.P., 2006. 2:174.
- “Norma Klein.” Oxford Encyclopedia of Children’s Literature. Ed. Jack Zipes. Oxford: Oxford U.P., 2006. 2: 371-72.
- “Ron Koertge.” Oxford Encyclopedia of Children’s Literature. Ed. Jack Zipes. Oxford: Oxford U.P., 2006. 2: 373-74.
- “Ruth Nichols.” Oxford Encyclopedia of Children’s Literature. Ed. Jack Zipes. Oxford: Oxford U.P., 2006. 3: 153-54.
- “Keith Robertson.” Oxford Encyclopedia of Children’s Literature. Ed. Jack Zipes. Oxford: Oxford U.P., 2006. 3: 349-50.
- “Mary Rodgers.” Oxford Encyclopedia of Children’s Literature. Ed. Jack Zipes. Oxford: Oxford U.P., 2006. 3: 358.
- “Jay Williams.” Oxford Encyclopedia of Children’s Literature. Ed. Jack Zipes. Oxford: Oxford U.P., 2006. 4: 188-89.
- “Selective Ventures.” Review article of U. C. Knoepflmacher’s Ventures into Childland: Victorians, Fairy Tales, and Femininity. Kritikon Litterarum: International Book Review for American, English, Romance, and Slavic Studies, and for Linguistics 30 (2003): 71-75.
- “Selina Returns.” Book Review of Barbara Smucker and Janet Wilson’s Selina and the Shoo-Fly Pie. Canadian Children's Literature. 25:4 (1999): 87-88.
- “The Letters of Charlotte Brontë, 1832-1847. Volume One.” Book Review of Margaret Smith’s new edition of Brontë’s letters. Victorian Studies Association of Ontario Newsletter 12:3 (1998).
- “John Knowles’ A Separate Peace.” Novels for Students. Ed. Diane Telgen. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 1997. 252-4. (Also appears in CD-ROM version of Novels for Students).
- “Chaim Potok's The Chosen.” Exploring Novels. CD-ROM. Detroit: Gale Research, 1997.
- “A Nativity Thief.” Book Review of Donn Kushner’s A Thief Among Statues. Canadian Children's Literature 77 (1995): 66.
- “Mere Illustration. A New Rumpelstiltskin.” Book Review of Dorothy Joan Harris and Regolo Ricci’s Rumpelstiltskin. Canadian Children's Literature 65 (1992): 99-100.
- Abstracts of English Studies: Abstracts in AES 31:4 (1988); 30:1-4 (1987); 30 (Bibliographical Supplement 1987); 29:3 (1986).
Keynote Addresses
- “Transformation: From Influence to Inspiration.” Keynote address for Phoenix Rising, an academic conference focusing on the Harry Potter books in New Orleans, Louisiana. May 2007. 90 minutes.
- “Desiring Dragons: Fantasy for the 21st Century.” Keynote address for the Michigan Library Association Annual Conference in Lansing, Michigan. September 2006. 60 minutes.
Conference Papers
- “Awfully Big Adventures: Peter Pan, Hook, and Story.” Presented at the Children’s Literature Association Conference, Ann Arbor, Michigan, in June 2010.
- “Mere Entertainment or Art for the Ages?: The Genius of Harry Potter.” Paper for panel entitled The Ethos of Harry Potter: Art, Influence, Delight at the Midwestern Modern Language Association Annual Conference. November 2006.
- “Life in London and Other Pastimes: Cultural Representation(s) in 19th Century Table Games.” Invited paper. Presented at the Monuments and Dust: The Culture of Victorian London international conference being held at the Tate Britain Gallery, London, England, in June 2004.
- “Here’s …. Harry!: The Popular Genres of Harry Potter.” Presented at the Popular Culture Association of America Conference, Toronto, Canada, in March 2002.
- “The Hockey Sweater: A Canadian Cross-Cultural Icon.” Presented at an International Symposium on Children’s Literature entitled “Reading Pictures: Art, Narrative, and Childhood,” Cambridge University, England in September 2000.
- “Finding themselves ‘more truly and more strange’: Unlikely Heroes in the fantasies of Lewis Carroll, George MacDonald, and J.R.R. Tolkien.” Presented at the National Council of Teachers of English Annual conference (NCTE), Denver, Colorado in November 1999.
- “Portrayals of War in Children's Fiction: New Historicist Approaches to L.M. Montgomery’s Rilla of Ingleside and Kate Seredy's The Singing Tree.” Presented at the International Research Society for Children's Literature (IRSCL) Biannual Conference, York, England in August 1997.